The McLaren P1 is set for a much anticipated world debut at the 83rd Geneva Motor Show starting on the 5th of March 2013. McLaren has just issued official details on the powertrain of the P1. As anticipated, the P1 uses the 3.8 litre twin turbo V8 we’ve seen on the MP4-12C but optimized for the P1. In addition to this mill, the P1 gets additional power from a lightweight electric motor which bumps power by a staggering 176 bhp. The P1 also has been bestowed upon DRS, courtesy of McLaren’s Formula 1 prowess.

The mid mounted 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine, a variant of the M838T engine that does duty in the MP4-12C, and a ‘highly effective’ lightweight electric motor work together to give a combined output of 916PS/903 bhp and a maximum torque figure of 900Nm! McLaren points out that this additional push from the electric motor ensures instantaneous throttle response through the rev range negating any appreciable effects of turbo lag.

The M838T engine was upgraded to the current avatar to optimise cooling and durability under the higher loads. The engine block has a unique casting to incorporate the electric motor. The V8 makes 727 bhp at 7500rpm and 720Nm of torque from 4,000rpm. The lightweight electric motor, developed by the McLaren Electronics, adds 16 bhp. The electric motor produces maximum torque of 260Nm instantly from Zero and makes the engine respond like a normally aspirated mill with no turbo lag.

The electric motor is mounted directly onto the engine and power is laid on the tarmac through the dual-clutch seven-speed gearbox through the rear wheels. The electric motor also facilitates faster upshifts says McLaren. Not unlike how you would roll off the throttle in a motorcycle during a clutchless upshift, the electric motor can apply instant negative torque at the point of shift, making the engine revs drop quickly and match the engine speed for the upshift.

DRS and IPAS

DRS. That tech from Formula 1 where a moveable flap changes the aerodynamics of the car is applied here, where the rear spoiler tilts by an angle to reduce drag by 23% This is of course activate by the driver using a button on the steering wheel and is deactivated when the button is released or when the driver brakes.

IPAS is activate by the other button where the electric motor is called upon for duty, to deliver the additional 176 horses.

The 96 kg battery is also charged by KERS and when operated in the E-Mode (electric only) provides the McLaren a range of 10 km. The battery has been mounted on the underbody of the high-strength Formula 1-grade carbon fibre MonoCage chassis, which seals the unit in the vehicle without the need for additional packaging. The battery can also be stored using the plug in charger stowed in the luggage compartment.

Bentley has unveiled the new Flying Spur ahead of its premiere at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. Sharp feature lines, muscular rear haunches, LED day-time running lights, dipped headlights and taillights are a result of the designers working to retain traditional Flying Spur cues in the sporty design for the most powerful four door Bentley ever. Powering the new Flying Spur is Bentley’s renowned 6.0-litre, twin turbo W12 engine, coupled to a ZF eight-speed transmission develpoing 625 PS/616 bhp and 800 Nm of torque. A 14 per cent improvement in the power-to-weight ratio over the outgoing model delivers a 0-60 mph time of 4.3 seconds and a top-speed of 200 mph (322 km/h). The Flying Spur, as other modern Bentleys is all wheel drive with a 40:60 rear-biased torque split.

The Bentley gets a lower roof line, deeply sculpted panels and a muscular rear haunch and an overall lower, wider stance that works well with the sharp lines and pretty curves. New design feature on the front fender is the vent with the styled B. The chrome grille is more upright, and is flanked by LED headlamps. The lower air intake is completely different from the last generation Flying Spur. At the rear, a longer and lower boot lid lends a more swept appearance to the side profile. Horizontal single ellipse LED tail lamps combine with a new interpretation of the famed Bentley ‘Horse Shoe’ feature line, now running the full width of the car.

As with the new range of Volvos announced yesterday, the Bentley also has the facility to create a WiFi hotspot for its occupants. A new Touch Screen Remote enables the passengers at the rear to control the entertainment system as well as the climate control system. The entire cabin has been redesigned with the exception of the sun visors, grab handles, armrests and some of the front console / controls.

“This is the most extensive development of existing models in our company’s history. Each of the enhancements is designed around our customers’ needs.” said Lex Kerssemakers, Senior Vice President, Product Strategy & Vehicle Line Management at Volvo Car Group. The entire range of Volvo’s 60 range of vehicles receive a face lift, and more features like Active High beam Control, upgrades to the Blind Spot Information System and City Safety and a Road Sign information system that uses a camera that looks farther than the driver and recognizes road signs!

Volvo has refreshed the exteriors of the XC60, S60 and the V60 with emphasis on the horizontal lines on the exterior to accentuate the width of the car, a design trend we’ve seen on all the three German marques last year. Volvo will now offer the customer the option of a sports seat with side support for those sporty moments while at the wheel of the new Volvo cars. “We’ve had nearly one hundred people of all shapes and sizes test this seat and we received a really enthusiastic response. ” says Project Director Patrik Widerstrand. The rear of the front seats have also been redesigned to give the passengers at the rear more legroom. Scandinavian design is minimalism at its finest, and the designers at Volvo have worked to eliminate unnecessary clutter.

The washer nozzles have been moved to places under the bonnet. The radar cover has been painted gloss black which hides it against the grille. The chrome frame around the grille has been removed and instead gets the new, bigger ironmark badge. The new integrated tailpipes, which can be specified with some engine variants are an astounding piece of Scandinavian engineering. In addition to being stunning to look at, the tail pipes also have to remain perfectly in place even when the exhaust system expands in length by 25mm at operating temperatures. Volvo wont tell us how they did it though, we’ll find out soon enough!

“To enhance the visual appeal of the car, customers can now specify their S60 or V60 with expressive 19-inch wheels and keep the same profile height as 18-inch ones, so they don’t lose any comfort,” says Patrik Widerstrand. The XC60 is available with 20-inch wheels while keeping the same tyre profile height and ride comfort as with 19-inch wheels.

“We were thinking of a wolf’s eyes when we designed them,” says Fedde Talsma, Design Director, Exterior about the headlamps on the Volvo S60. The S60 also gets a wider grille, daylight running lights and a new LED light guide on the tail lamps. All of these work to lower the stance of the car and add to the dynamism. The interiors get new upholstery colours, new wood inlays, a new headliner, and the silk metal frames around the air vents and light controls.

As before, you can have your S60 in a choice of three chassis types – Touring, Dynamic, Four-C (Continuously Controlled Chassis Concept). The fourth addition to the S60 this year is the Lower Sport Chassis, previously only available on the R-Design version.

The V60 has also been given the ‘horizontal’ treatment to widen the stance of the car. The V60 is also now available with the Lower Sport chassis.

The redesigned front features a new hood shape that emphasises the wide, confident look. “We’ve taken away any black trim so the car is now all one body colour. The new headlamps look very focused and determined, and the horizontal lines on the grille with its chrome bars emphasise the car’s width,” says Fedde Talsma. The interiors see new wood inlays, a new headliner, textile B-pillars and the silk metal frames around the air vents and light controls.

Sensus Connected Touch is the latest addition to Volvo’s Sensus, the name the company uses for all its HMI (Human Machine Interface) functionality. A 7 inch touch enabled screen across the range can be used for browsing ( only when not driving) and offers the usual gamut of entertainment options. Volvo thoughtfully, uses infrared, beam scanned tech on the touch screen that enables the driver to use the screen even when wearing gloves, not unlike what we’ve seen on the Nokia Lumia 920. TripInfo reads out Wikipedia information about interesting points along the route via the audio system.

Adaptive Digital Display can now be had on the new S60, V60 and XC60. The tech debuted on the Volvo V40. The display has three themes that can be selected based on how the drivers intends to drive. The themes include the normal Elegance theme, the self explanatory Eco theme and of course, the Performance theme where everything glows red!

The V60 Plug-in Hybrid also comes with an additional Hybrid Theme with blue illumination which also display additional information regarding the battery.

The new Active High Beam Control shades part of the beam so as to not dazzle oncoming traffic thereby negating the need for switching between high beam and low beam. Volvo says this is accomplished by a ‘ingenious’ projector module mechanism integrated into the headlamp. It wasn’t so long ago we had written about Audi presenting a similar technology ( albeit for fully LED headlamps) at the CES 2013.

IntelliSafe is Volvo’s blanket name for all active safety systems, and Volvo’s world-first City Safety technology plays an important part. Fitted as standard, this advanced safety system now works at speeds of up to 50 km/h. All models can also get Pedestrian Detection with full auto brake, which watches out for people walking into the car’s path.

Volvo’s much acclaimed Blind Spot Information System now also warns the driver when a vehicle is approaching rapidly from behind. The system is now radar-based.

Cross Traffic Alert uses the radar sensors at the rear end of the car to watch our for traffic when reversing out of a parking space.

Road Sign Information supports the driver by displaying road signs on the instrument display.

“As the leader in automotive safety, we have reduced the risk of being involved in an accident or being injured in one of our latest car models by abound 50 per cent since the year 2000. By continuously introducing new preventive and protective systems, we keep moving towards our safety vision that nobody should die or suffer serious injuries in a new Volvo car by the year 2020,” says Thomas Broberg, Senior Safety Advisor at Volvo Car Group.

BMW has launched a new ad campaign in Germany focused on BMW design. Part of the campaign is a stunning new television spot directed by Samuel Bayer which highlights the design and dynamism of the Concept 4 Series Coupé. Samuel Bayer is known for directing the video for Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and various other music videos for artists ranging from Ozzy, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie to Justin Timberlake, Greenday, The Cranberries and more. The other initiative in the campaign is a set of print ads featuring various BMW cars, all shot by Uwe Düttmann. Both the TV spot and the print ads have something in them which figure out will leave your jaw on the ground. Read on to find out more.

Assuming you’ve watched the video, stunning isn’t it? The dynamic nature of BMW design is the topic of the new global campaign.The campaign currently launched in Germany will go international in the first quarter of 2013.

“Our products promise sheer driving pleasure. But the anticipation of what can be experienced with a BMW, begins at first sight. The new campaign showcases the dynamics of design in a surprisingly different way,” explains Andreas-Christoph Hofmann, head of BMW Brand Communications.

Karim Habib, head of BMW Design said “The BMW Concept 4 Series Coupé has its own character within the BMW family and combines all that BMW stands for: dynamic performance, sportiness and elegance. Clear lines and distinctively sculpted surfaces express this dynamism and motion even when the car is standing still.”

BMW continues with the art of emphasizing the dynamism of a stationary BMW in a series of print ads with photos shot by Uwe Düttmann. More than 3500 metres of rope were used to create the illusion of speed in these images.

If your appetite for BMW Design isn’t satisfied yet, head on to http://www.bmw.com/design for more.